I have a friend on Facebook that recently posted a video that I think everyone should watch so I am sharing it on my blog. The second video is a video response to the first video. With all of the trivial mass garbage that is posted on the Internet daily, it is not often that I come across videos that make me really think and want to think.
Are you doing what you want to do? Are you afraid to do what you dream? Are you like the hamster on a wheel that cannot get off? If so, you will appreciate this first video. What do you desire? Lucky for me I have always been able to work with art my entire “adult” life. I treasure getting my fingers dirty and stretching the boundaries of what I think I can do, but what really is exciting for me is teaching art. I know deep down inside I love seeing what art does for young people. How it encourages them and can help them feel good about themselves. There is nothing more thrilling than watching the development of a young child’s mind and growth with art. I see a spark and I feel the emotion that went into their artwork when they really care about what they are doing.
Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siu6JYqOZ0g
I have worked several different jobs over my lifetime. I had a summer at a factory in my hometown. It hurt my fingers with the little metal shavings that would get into them. I have waited tables, greeted people, sold cameras, and done many jobs as I was working my way through college. I sold my pottery at art shows for many years and I loved it except for the fact that even with art there is always the problem of making money to live……so, sometimes you make mugs, many, many mugs, to survive! However, even when I was doing other things I think in my heart I was always a teacher. When I went to Central Michigan University to update my teaching certificate so I could teach again, I asked one of my professors to write me a letter of recommendation. He went beyond my expectations. He came up to visit me at my studio near Maple City. I was in the middle of getting ready for yet another art show, so I very busy. I stopped what I was doing and showed him how everything worked. I explained the firing process. I was excited that he had taken the time to stop in and see me. When I received a copy of his letter, he wrote about how I am always teaching. He knew I was busy but he learned so much from visiting me because I took the time to show him what I was doing.
Teaching in itself is an art form. Not everyone has that gift. Anyone that thinks it is easy to teach someone about anything just doesn’t really understand what it takes to be a good or great teacher. Think about the last time you tried to give someone directions that has a hard time understanding the whole north, south, east, and west thing. Some people can understand those directions quite easily while others are immediately lost when you open your mouth. Teaching is the same way as some students come more prepared than others and some just lack understanding or perhaps confidence. No two students are identical but we keep teaching them all the same ways. It’s a bit confusing. Like the video, we should be teaching students how to reach for their dreams. School shouldn’t be about taking a series of standardized tests, but about learning, thinking, and even dreaming. We should give students the opportunity to create in the arts, perform music and drama, build with their hands, and of course learn how to read, write, and do those complex math problems. However, in school we should also be developing self awareness for each student, not to be future drones, but to be self sufficient, confident, and most of all we should teach them how to think independently!
The second video was a video response to the first video. It is Charlie Chaplin giving his last speech in “The Great Dictator.”
I think as a society, we owe it to each other to be the best that we can be. We should encourage each other to become the best that we can be. We should not be greedy or hateful. In this season of giving my gift to any of you that bother to read my blog is the gift of thought. I hope each of these videos causes you to think about how you make an impact on the people you meet each day. If you work with children, remember that they need strong people in their lives that truly care about them. It is up to us, the people, to create the kind of world that we want it to be. It is up to us to create our own bliss in whatever way we are able. I challenge all of you to reach outside yourself and help someone else that needs it, but most of all find what will make you happy. If you are happy, you just might make someone else happy as well!